IG wants it all

I would classify myself as an Instagram addict. I follow the [unwritten] rules and don’t post unless it is worthwhile, but I am constantly refreshing my screen. My right thumb is jacked (seriously, it’s bigger than my left thumb. But this isn’t only me — look at your thumbs, humans are adapting to our weird mobile environments). I noticed it was an issue about a week ago when IG was down for an ENTIRE DAY. I found myself trying to open the app constantly. Five minutes later, I’d forget it was down again and try to open it again. I got nervous that I was missing what kinds of food people were eating and memes that mean nothing at all. I turned to an old friend, Twitter, to see if everyone else in the world was experiencing this misery — which they were, as “Instagram down” was trending.

If you use Instagram, you noticed that the app had a major update this week, that directly resembles Snapchat. They are calling it Instagram Stories and lets you posts pics and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

Pro: Instagram has a much larger audience, so if your story is really your brand, then you should be excited.

Con: People you follow who abuse this, turn out to be super annoying. Can we unfollow people’s stories? Also, people using it as a branding tool — do you now have to create two stories – one on each platform?!

Facebook, who owns IG, tried to buy Snapchat a few years back for $3 billion. Snapchat declined, and is now valued at $20 billion. This could have been the fuel to Mark Zuck’s fire — I get a feeling he doesn’t like being turned down.

Another example of how IG is trying to take over your social world: Last year, Instagram launched a new app called Boomerang, which captures a series of photos and puts them together in a one-second video that plays forward and backward in a never-ending loop. Say goodbye to the GIF.

IG seems to want to be the one-stop-app for all of your visual needs. I still like IG best for its original use. I enjoy scrolling through pictures, rather than watching stories. But I don’t think that stories will be going away any time soon.